Cover Story
by Beach chick
Summary: John gets some unwanted attention. To get out of the situation he finds himself in, he lies and says he's married. John and Elizabeth pairing, ratings may go up later
1. Chapter 1

**Cover Story**

**Pairing:** John and Elizabeth

**Summary:** John gets some unwanted attention. To get out of the situation he finds himself in, he lies and says he's married.

**Genre:** General, Romance

**Chapter 1 Unwanted Attention**

John was starting to panic. Ok, maybe panic wasn't the right word to describe what John Sheppard was feeling. Normally he would love the attention he was receiving . Knowing women would throw themselves at him, was how his cocky, flyboy attitude had developed. But the last time he'd been in…a relationship with someone not from Earth, Dr. Beckett had warned him of what could happen.

* * *

"How many times have I told ye not to sleep with people you've just met?"

"_Uh…I know….many times." _

"_Well, apparently not enough." _

"_I know."_

"_No, you don't know," Carson argued. "We have no idea of the kind of diseases you can get from interacting in sexual intercourse with aliens!" Beckett almost yelled as he scolded John. _

"_Diseases?" _

"_Aye, you think STDs are bad. We don't even know the kind of space STDs that are floating around." _

_John almost laughed. "I'm not going to get anything."_

"_I beg to differ. For your own safety, I'm going to have to order you to stay clear of any sexual activities with people not on Atlantis." _

"_So I can with people on Atlantis?" _

_The doctor gave him a dirty look. "I can have Elizabeth order you,." _

"_No! No…I'll refrain from any of that kind of activity." _

"_If I find out…" Carson said. _

"_You won't," John said about to leave. _

"_There will be a big needle waiting for you!" _

_John had shivered and walked out of the room._

* * *

  
The Colonel wasn't easily scared, but Carson's words had shaken him. The unknown diseases he could contract and Carson's warning about the needle sent chills down his spine.

'_I'm a changed man now. No more sleeping with people I've just met,' _John thought. "Ladies, please," John said getting frustrated. "I've already told you no."

"Oh come one," Tatia Fali, the king's eldest daughter, said pulling on his jacket. "When I first saw you, I knew I had to have you."

"That's very flattering but-"

"Don't listen to her," her sister Catlin replied. "I want you."

They pushed John onto the bed. Each was on either side of him trying to remove his clothing.

_"I can't do this,"_ He could feel his body slowly giving in. _'I've got to stop this now.'_

"Why can't you do this?" Tatia asked. She had her hand on his chest and was trying to pry his shirt off.

John thought fast._ 'What can I say to get out of this?'_ Carson's warnings rang clear in his head. _'Yes! Of course,'_ John thought as an idea came to mind.

"I'm married."

"You're what?" The two sisters stopped what they were doing and looked at the Colonel for an explanation.

John took this opportunity to get off the bed, and his eased his way over to the door.

"I'm married," he repeated.

"To who?"

'That's a very good question,' John thought. He blurted the first name that came to mind. "Elizabeth. I'm married to Elizabeth."

"Dr. Weir?" There were traces of disappointment in Tatia's voice.

"Yep," John said. "Sorry, I'm not available. Now if you excuse me," he left the room. _'Too close,' _John thought as he headed down the hall. The bathroom had been his original destination before he had been accosted. He used the restrooms which were similar to Atlantis and headed back to join the others.

Tatia and Catlin came to join them a few minutes later. The Colonel looked around nervously. The youngest daughter looked disappointed while the oldest had a smug smile on her face. John could tell she was planning something. _'What are you up to'_ he thought eyeing her suspiciously. She leaned in to say something to her father. The King's eyes lit up. Sheppard wanted to hit his head on the table. The King looked at John and then to Elizabeth. Elizabeth seemed to be the only one who noticed while the rest of the team continued to eat happily.

'_Stupid, stupid, John,'_ he scolded himself. _'How are you going to get out of this one?'_

The King turned to Elizabeth. "I did not know that you and the Colonel are married."

Choking and gagging sounds were heard from the rest of the team. They were now coughing as their food went down the wrong way. Three servants rushed in to pat them on the back and ask them if they were okay.

"We're what?" She asked turning to face John. With one eye brow raised, she said, "You're mistaken-"

John cut her off before she could say any more. "What Elizabeth means to say is that we've just gotten married." He placed a hand on hers and gave her a look that said, play along.

Elizabeth caught his look and decided to help him out. "Just married."

Rodney choked on his drink, and John shot him a look.

Teyla and Ronon were confused, but they quickly hid their surprise knowing that there must be a good reason for them to lie to their new allies.

"Let me have a word with John," Elizabeth said getting up and excusing herself from the table.

"Of course," the king answered.

John got up and slowly followed her out of the room. He had heard the seriousness in her voice. This tone was usually reserved for dangerous situations or people like Kavanaugh who annoyed her. John knew if he was hearing this tone, she was not happy.

_'This is not good,'_ John thought exiting after the unhappy leader.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: **Wow! Thank you for all of the reviews. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings when I know people are reading my stories. Sorry this chapter is so short. I'll try and make the next one longer.

**Last chapter recap: **John lies and says he is married to Elizabeth. She goes along with him, but tells him she wants to speak with him in the hallway. John knows he's in trouble and will have to explain himself.

**Chapter 2 Married?**

"What the hell is going on?" Elizabeth asked turning to face John. She tried to keep her voice down to a whisper even though they were supposed to be out of hearing range. _'Has John lost his mind?'_

"I had no other option," John whispered back. "The king's daughters were trying to get me to sleep with them." _'You should have seen them!'_

"They what?"

"They stopped me on the way to the bathroom. What was I supposed to do?" He asked her.

"I knew you had a way with women, but I had no idea." _'No idea.'_ John made a face at her. She seemed to be deep in thought. "Hold on a second, do you know what this means?" She asked. Sheppard remained silent and waited for her to continue. "The whole time we're here we are going to have to pretend we're married!" She was pacing back and forth as she said this. _'I can't do this. Who knows how long we'll be here' _John's next sentence stopped her in her tracks.

"Would it really be so bad to pretend to be married to me?" _'Maybe saying this will get me off the hook.'_

'_How am I supposed to answer that?' _She thought. _'Wait don't answer that.' _Before she could stop herself, she said, "No…"

"Then I don't see the problem. It's already after dinner. We'll be leaving soon. We don't have to pretend for very long."

"It might work." _'What the hell are you saying? It might work? You're not supposed to agree to something like this!'_ her head screamed, and she could barely block out the sound.

"It will work," he said and then added "honey" to the end of the sentence. _'I hope she doesn't slap me.'_

Her heart started to flutter. She knew she was entering dangerous territory. Elizabeth didn't want her personal feeling**s** for John to come out while they were pretending.

'_I've been able to suppress them for this long. Letting them out now might give away how I feel.'_

"Shall we join them?" John asked stretching his hand out for her to take. He flashed her an award**-**winning smile.

'_Then again, we will be acting. So whatever feelings I show, everyone who knows me will think I'm acting.'_ She weighed her options carefully, but she eventually gave into his smile. She flashed him her own smile and took his hand. "Let's." _'Oh my…. I hope I can remember what I learned years ago in drama!'_

They entered the dining room, hand in hand, as they took their places at the table. The sisters saw them holding hands and were extremely jealous.

"Ah, there you two are,**"** the elderly king said. "I was just filling your team in on our culture and the upcoming celebration…." The king's voice trailed off as they heard thunder overhead. They could hear the sound of a horn blowing far off in the distance. The council, who was also eating dinner with them, shouted for the servants. They rushed into the room and closed the windows and doors.

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked alarmed.

"The horn you just heard indicates that a storm is quickly approaching," the king's wife answered.

"Then we must go back through the gate," Rodney said standing up.

"I'm sorry," Algrin, one of the servants said. He peekedthough the window and turned to face them. "The storm has already reached us."

"It would not be wise to try and make it home," the king agreed.

They could hear heavy raindrops falling on the roof top.

"You can stay here as long as you want," the queen said.

"That's very kind of you. We should be going as soon as possible," John answered looking at the king's daughters. The thought of being trapped here, with them, was something he was trying not to consider.

"You don't understand." The queen shook her head. "This storm can last for days."

Another flash of lightning came and they heard thunder.

"Then how are we going to get home?" Ronon asked.

"We're not," McKay answered as the rain and the tree branches thrashed against the building.

End of chp. 2

Please review:)


	3. Chapter 3

** AN:** Sorry it took me so long to update. It's spring break this week, and I've been out of town. I've already been to the San Francisco Zoo and the beach. Well, anyways I'm behind on everything so before I forget, thank you guys for reviewing. It makes me happy to know that so many people enjoy my story. -D

**Another note:** This chapter shows Elizabeth and John's point of view in italics. Also this includes what I think should happen with the Wraith at the opening of season three. Just so you know.

**Random Information:** JAG is comming out on dvd! Just thought I'd say that since I'm so excited.

Chapter 3 Uncomfortable Feelings

"Algrin will show you to your rooms," the king said motioning the servant to step forward

"I'd like a moment with my colleagues," Elizabeth replied. The king nodded and watched as they left the room.

As soon as they were in the hall, they turned to talk to one another.

"Am I the only one in the dark here? Why do they think you're married?" Rodney asked folding his arms and waiting for them to explain.

"You both are acting…unlike yourselves," Teyla agreed.

The three of them stood there waiting for an explanation.

"It's a long story," John said.

Elizabeth interrupted him. "The short version is that the Colonel was trying to ward off the king's daughters and now we have to pretend we're married."

"I knew it! You are Kirk!" Rodney said. Teyla smiled and nodded a little confused by his comment, and Ronon smirked.

John rolled his eyes. "Do you have something you want to add?" Sheppard asked Ronon.

"I didn't say anything," Ronon replied as he smirked again.

Thunder raged loudly overhead. Each one froze and listened to the wind howl and the rain pour down.

"We're going to be here a long time," Rodney sighed.

"Actually, I'm kind of looking forward to staying for a while," Elizabeth said. They all turned to look at her.

_'Maybe she's looking forward to playing Mrs. Elizabeth Sheppard. That does have a nice ring to it.'_

"We could look at this as a long over due vacation. We are not expected back for a day or two and no one will miss us yet. Plus, the Wraith haven't been giving us trouble for a long time. I expect they are still busy trying to reverse the effects of the retro virus," Elizabeth said referring to when the Wraith used them to learn the location to earth and then John managed to sneak on board and turn the Wraith into humans. They had forgotten everything about who they were and what had happened.

_'Damn!'_ John thought. _'Here I thought she would like to spend time with me.'_

"This way we can all spend more time with each other and also with the Aphrodan people. We could learn about their culture and technology and really see what we could do for each other as allies."

_'Maybe she does want to spend time with me,'_ he smiled hopefully.

"And we won't starve," Rodney added seeing the bright side of the situation. He snapped his fingers in thought. "What was that dish they served us?"

"It was something like your chicken and potatoes," Ronon said as he thought back to the delicious food they had eaten.

"We're all ok with staying here?" John asked.

They nodded. He gulped. _'I'm cool about staying here. I'm ok with it.'_ John thought trying to reassure himself everything would be fine.

Algrin lead the five of them out the dinning room doors and onto the stair like objects. The stairs, if that's what you want to call this tree branch like twisted walkway, winded up to the second floor of the massive palace.

_'There are tropical plants everywhere,'_ John thought shoving a palm tree like plant out of his face. _'These things are really annoying!'_

He focused his attention away from the evil plants and took in his surroundings. Despite all the exotic plants, the hall and rooms they passed were very nice. There seemed to be a tropical theme going on. The halls were white or cream color and statues of wild animals lined the halls and rooms. There were fountains and other sculptures and paintings here and there. John was impressed. _'I'd give the palace decorator an A,'_ he said to himself. "This is really nice."

Each team member was assigned a room on the same hall, and Elizabeth and John were the last to receive theirs. Algrin opened the door, and they stared in shock. Each room they saw their friend go into was big and lavishly furnished, but this room was massive. It out did the other rooms by far.

"This is ours?" Elizabeth asked as she entered and looked around.

"Yes, for as long as you stay," Algrin replied.

"Wow!"

"Wow!" Was all they could say at the moment.

"Is your home not like this?" He asked them surprised by their reactions.

"It's nice," John said, "but nothing like this.

The servant smiled. "If you need anything just let me know. This storm looks like it might last for a few days. If you find yourselves looking for something to do, come and find me, and I'll show you the recreational rooms." The servant turned to go. "There are clean clothes in the drawer," he added slipping out of the room.

Elizabeth and John were finally alone to take in their surroundings. The leader sat down on the bed next to the Colonel and looked around. She stared up at the ceiling. There were tiny angels and clouds lined in gold.

"This room is amazing," she said. Her gaze left the ceiling and furnishing, and she turned to look at John.

"Yeah," he agreed lying back on the canopy bed.

Elizabeth smiled and stood up to look around the room. It was like a small apartment except lavishly furnished. There was a sitting area off to the side of the room, a nice bathroom, and was that a balcony? She could feel the excitement growing inside of her as she stepped out onto the glass covered balcony and gazed over at the darkening sky and the storm.

John stood by her side and looked out through the glass. "It's hard to see anything out there."

"Yeah, we are going to be here for a while."

"Then why don't we make the most of it," he smiled at her.

She eyed him suspiciously and folded her arms. She raised an eyebrow and said, "What did you have in mind?"

His eyebrow shot up at her somewhat suggestive and inquisitive tone. "Tomorrow we should take Algrin up on his offer. It would be nice to take a tour of the palace and see the recreational area."

"That sounds like a plan," she smiled. "But right now a bath sounds really nice."

"It does," he said. She looked at him funny.

Sheppard realized what he was unintentionally implying and starting stumbling over his words. "What I meant was that a bath sounds good…I mean after you take one. Not that taking one with you wouldn't be nice. It's just that…" he trailed off seeing the amused expression on her face. 'Nice one. Real smooth, Sheppard,' he thought.

"I understand what you meant," she said. The amusement was still present on her face.

"Right," he said not knowing what else to say.

"Right," she said heading towards the bathroom.

"You know, if you need any help, I'll be out here."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said disappearing into the bathroom.

John felt his temperature rise as she said that. _'Get a hold of yourself!'_ His mind screamed. _'What am I thinking? What is she thinking? She's teasing me,'_ he thought. _'She sees how uncomfortable she is making me and enjoying every moment.'_ He rarely got to see this side of her. Usually Elizabeth was all business. _'Today she seems to be enjoying my discomfort,'_ he said to himself._ 'Well, two can play at that game._ _I'm not one to be easily discomforted without giving some discomfort of my own.'_

Elizabeth sighed and leaned back against the closed door. She didn't know how long she could keep her feelings for him repressed. She had decided, as Algrin was leading them down the hall, that she was over thinking things too much. The best course of action, she had decided, was to try and to relax. _'I was just trying to be comfortable around him, not to make him feel uncomfortable.'_ She thought back on their conversation and how he was stumbling over his words. She smiled finding the situation humorous. _'His reaction was rather funny.'_ It was unusual for her to see the confident and self-assured Colonel lose his cool like that. _'I just said I was going to take a bath, and it made him so uncomfortable.'_ She never knew she could have this kind of power over a man. When she was going out with Simon they just talked. There was never any teasing and rarely any flirting between them. They both liked the same things and were content with showing each other how they felt. With John, it was a whole other matter. She wasn't even supposed to like him this way, and then to realize that she had this capability added to her uneasiness about the whole situation.

Another thought occurred to her. She refused think about it, but it reappeared in her consciousness every so often. _'What if he has the same feelings for me? No,'_ she told herself. '_That is impossible. I've seen the kind of women he goes for.' _She thought back on Chaya and the few other women he had been reported of being with. _'I'm defiantly not his type.'_ Deep down inside, she hoped she was wrong.

John pushed his thoughts of Elizabeth out of his mind and back to the situation of the king's daughters. He had to stay clear of them at all costs. _'They are sneaky.'_ How did he know? He could just tell. They did not seem like the kind of people who would give up without a fight. _'Now telling the king that Elizabeth and I are married was very sneaky and clever.'_

A persistent knocking on the door interrupted John's thoughts.

"We know you're in there," Tatia said.

The Colonel nearly jumped off the bed. _'I thought that telling them I was married would at least keep them at bay for a while.'_ He did not expect them to be coming for him so soon.

"John!" They called.

No answer came.

John paced back and forth wondering what he should do.

"We have a key."

John's eyes shot open wide, and he looked around franticly for somewhere to hind.

End of chapter 3

AN: You know you want to review. I can just tell. -D


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Thanks for the reviews. Sorry it took me so long to post. Things are crazy in my hectic school life.

**Another note:** I'm thinking about changing the ratings for this. I'm still not sure, but the ratings might go higher. You have been warned!

**Chapter 4 Bathroom Situations**

'_There's no where to go!' _John thought looking for an escape route.

He was just about to give up hope when he spotted the bathroom door.

He shrugged. _'She won't mind,' _he convinced himself.

He rushed in and closed the door behind him. Elizabeth gasped at the sight of John and sank lower in the tub.

"John! What are you doing in here?"

John's back was to her, and he was listening at the door. He looked down at the door.

"Damn!" _'There aren't any locks. What kind of people don't have locks on their bathroom doors?'_

"John!" She said louder as she heard him swear. "What's going on?"

He seemed to remember she was in the room and turned around.

"I was just…" His words trailed off as he looked at her. "Wow."

"You said that out loud."

"Did I?" He was lost in thought.

Her face turned a bright shade of red, and she sunk lower in the water.

The Colonel heard two voices, and this snapped him out of his thoughts.

"John, please explain to me what is going on."

"I'm…looking for somewhere to hide. Tatia and Catlin are in our room." He examined every corner of the bathroom looking for a suitable hiding spot.

"They're what?"

"They're looking for me," John snapped as he paced back and forth. "There must be somewhere I can hide."

"I don't see anywhere," she replied. She looked around without getting out of the safety of the tub.

"There must be somewhere…" he stopped his search and looked at her.

"What?" She asked looking down.

When she realized what he was thinking, she said, "No." Her eyes opened wide at the thought, and she shook her head. John started puling his clothes off. "Don't you dare!" Elizabeth said. John threw his shirt out of sight and reached for the zipper on his pants.

"That bath tub is big enough for the two of us," he argued.

"You can't do this," she pleaded. "This is unprofessional and…and."

He stopped what he was doing and looked at her. _'If she really doesn't want me to do this, I won't.' _

'_Damn those eyes.' _She thought. He was silently pleading with her, and against her better judgment, she could not refuse him.

She sighed. "Get in the tub."

He threw her his special smile, and she sighed again. _'What am I doing?' _

She continued to stare as he started to pull his pants off.

He smirked. "Do you mind?"

Her face flushed pink again, and she closed her eyes. "Please tell me your not getting fully undressed."

"I have no idea what your talking about."

'_That's obviously a yes. Sheppard without clothes…now there's an interesting idea.' _She mentally slapped herself for the thought and concentrated on keeping her eyes closed. She self consciously pulled the bubbles closer around herself as she felt the water move indicating John was getting in. "You better have your eyes closed the whole time." She opened her eyes, and their eyes met. "I said have your eyes closed."

"Yes, ma'am." He closed his eyes and lay back in the water. She wanted to wipe that smug smile off his face, but right now, she had more important things to deal with.

"I sure hope you can hold your breath for a long time," she whispered. His eyes flashed open at the comment, and she enjoyed dunking his head into the water. A second later, the door was thrown open, and Elizabeth found herself staring into the eyes of the two sisters. They looked disappointed. They assumed John would be in there instead. _'I'm really going to have fun with this,' _Elizabeth thought. "What are you two doing in here!"

They looked guilty and startled at her reaction. "We were just looking for John," Tatia said.

"Well, obviously he's not here."

"We thought he'd be here at this time of night," Catlin replied.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "You thought wrong."

They were not able to take the hint that she wanted them to leave. "Do you have any idea where he is?"

"How should I know? Isn't it past your bed time?" She laughed inside at the reaction she received.

"Well, you are his wife, are you not?" Tatia asked. She was getting tired of Elizabeth and just wanted to find John.

Elizabeth had about enough, and she could feel John tugging at her arm to be let up. "Get out! Even if I did know where he was, I wouldn't tell either of you."

"Your not a very good wife," Tatia remarked.

Elizabeth's eyes blazed with anger, and Catlin could tell she was upset.

"Let's go," Catlin said as she attempted to pull her sister from the room.

"This isn't finished yet," Tatia snarled.

"Oh I think it is," Elizabeth replied sharply, before the door closed, and she was left there in silence. She immediately lifted John's head out of the water. He started coughing and spitting water out of his mouth. "Are you alright?" She handed him a towel.

"Yeah, thanks."

"For the towel or for saving your butt?"

"Both. Listen, if it wasn't for what I said, you wouldn't be in this mess."

She sighed and shook her head. "It's not your fault. This could have happened to anyone." He rolled his eyes. "Well, it does happen to you more than most."

"Carson was telling me something similar the other day…." his words trailed off. _'I didn't want to say that.' _

"I can sympathize. He's done the same thing to me."

"What?" John asked. _'We can't possibly be talking about the same thing.' _

"He's been threatening you, huh? He does the same thing to me." John still looked confused, so she gave him a further explanation. "He's been chastising me about the amount of…uh…theamountofcondomsI'vebeentakinglately." She said this so fast that John wasn't sure if he had heard right.

"Hold on a second…the amount of…who have you been sleeping with?"

"John!" _'I cannot believe he is asking me this.' _

"It's a simple question."

"Well, it's none of your business."

'_I cannot believe she's been sleeping with someone! Who is this guy?' _John thought as anger and jealously boiled up inside of him. _'You can't expect her to wait around forever for you.' _His consciousness said.

"Shut up!" John said.

"Excuse me?"

John stumbled over his words. "I was just…uh…thinking out loud."

"Oh…" There was silence for a minute or two. John was thinking about ways to exact his revenge on whomever it is Elizabeth is seeing, and she was wondering why John cared so much about it.

She suddenly remembered being naked in a tub with her military officer and the worst part was…the bubbles were starting to vanish. A blush rose to her cheeks as she realized how close John was sitting to her. She shifted her leg in a different position and immediately felt his warm skin against her toe.

John felt the touch and looked up. Their eyes met, and they held their gaze for a moment. Elizabeth felt a rush of emotion as their gaze locked. She had never felt this way before staring at someone. Unknown to her, John was feeling the same way. Elizabeth quickly looked away feeling her face turn an even deeper shade.

'_Her skin is like the smooth feel of silk,' _was John's first though. He was really getting a glimpse of her for the first time. Only her foot touched his side, but that was enough to send a spark of desire running through him. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to have her whole body collide with his. John mentally slapped himself. He could feel passionate feelings rise inside of him. _'She's your boss, and you don't even know if she feels the same way you do about her.' _

"I should get out," she said feeling very awkward all of a sudden. "You can have the bathroom to yourself."

"No, I'll get out as well."

"Ok," she agreed. "Uh…could you hand me that towel?" She made him look the other way as she draped the cap like towel around herself and stepped out. She got the Colonel a new towel, and he did the same.

"Clothes. I think Algrin said something about new clothes."

They went back into the room and threw open the closet. Elizabeth looked at the contents of the closet excitedly while John stared in shock. 'Oh no…"

To Be Continued

AN: Please review! Your reviews will give me more happy feelings, and it will let me know if you want me to still continue. -D


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I'm sorry it took me so long to update. Life got in the way. Everything from picking classes for next year to prom got in the way of my story writing. Things have settled down now, and I am able to get chapter five up. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Don't forget to leave nice reviews before you leave. They inspire me to write.

-D

**Chapter 5 Sleeping Partners**

John shook his head in disapproval as he looked at what lay before him. Elizabeth rummaged though the closet to his right. He watched her for a minute. He wished he could feel the same excitement of seeing the clothes.

"These are clothes you read about in fairly tales," Elizabeth said as she ran her fingertips over the silky smooth fabric. "You know, clothing worn by king and queens or princesses-

"I get it," he said.

"You seem less than thrilled about this."

"I thought we'd be getting more clothes like the one's we usually wear." He pointed to the clothes in the closet. "These are very different from the clothes I wear." Elizabeth grabbed a pale blue nightdress and helped John find something suitable.

"I know these clothes are different from what we're used to, but when do we ever get to wear clothes like this? It's a new experience."

"One I'd like to avoid."

"Oh come on, it won't be that bad." Before she could say anymore, they heard a knock at the door. The two of them exchanged worried glances.

'It better not be the sisters,' Elizabeth thought. From the look on John's face, she could tell he was thinking the same thing.

"Colonel! Elizabeth!" Rodney shouted. "I know you're in there. How long are you two going to make me stand out here?"

John rolled his eyes and opened the door. "Jeez, McKay. Are you trying to wake up the whole place?" John's irritated tone of voice changed immediately when he saw Rodney. Rodney had changed into the palace clothes. He looked hilarious. John coughed to hide his laugh, and Elizabeth bit her lip in a failed attempt to hide her smile.

"What?" The scientist asked. "These were the only clothes in my room. Don't make me start in on your appearance. You two don't look any better."

Elizabeth pulled her towel closer around herself and zoomed into the bathroom before Rodney could say anything else.

The scientist smirked. "Did you two shower together?"

"Ha ha very funny," John answered.

"Is that a yes?"

"McKay!"

"Alright, don't get all uptight. I just came by to wish you two good night. I tried Teyla and then Ronon's rooms but no one answered. I even called their names and nothing. They must think standing in the hall is great for my health," Rodney complained.

"Maybe they're asleep," John suggested. "The walk here was pretty far."

"They could be. Well, I will leave and you can both get back to…whatever it is you were doing before I came."

"See you in the morning," John said closing the door behind him.

As the door closed, Elizabeth came out of the bathroom. "Is he gone?"

"He just left."

"Good…I mean, I left before…did he say anything…you know…questionable?"

"What's your definition of questionable?"

"Did he say anything about our appearance?"

Sheppard shrugged. "He just asked if we showered together." Both her eyebrows rose up.

"What did-"

"Don't worry. I took care of it."

"Alright," she said smoothing out her gown. "The bathrooms free."

* * *

Five minute later… 

Sheppard finished up in the bathroom, and joined Elizabeth by the window. She was staring out at the rain. He could not decipher her expression.

"I wonder how everyone's doing in Atlantis," she said sensing his approach.

"I'm sure everything's fine."

"It's not that I don't trust Caldwell to run the city…it's just…"

"You don't like how much he changes things and takes over."

"Yeah," she said. She breathed a sigh of relief glad that John knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I'm sure they are getting along fine. He's only watching over Atlantis for a little while."

"Yeah," she said. "Why do I worry?" She was not expecting an answer and was surprised at the one she received.

"Because you care." John said. She looked up at him, and he met her gaze. A yawn escaped her mouth, and it didn't escape his notice. "Let's get some sleep. It seems early, but like I told McKay, the walk here was long."

"Ok," she agreed stretching her arms and standing up.

They both looked over at the bed. John was the first to speak. " You can have the bed."

"No, John. I couldn't do that."

"This spot looks comfortable," he answered grabbing a pillow.

She stood in front of him in an attempt to stop him from lying down. "Like you said in the bathroom, this bed is big enough for the two of us."

A small smile played on the corners of his lips. "I was referring to the tub."

"Same thing. Now quit acting stupid and agree to share this bed with me." She could be pushy when she wanted to be.

"Yes, Dr." he said.

"Good," she replied. They each took their side of the bed and laid down.

"Good night, John."

"Good night," Elizabeth.

They blew out the candles and all was still…until the morning.

* * *

Elizabeth woke up more relaxed than she had felt in years. Her eyes were still shut, and she soaked up the feel of the warm comfy sheets. _'This feather blanket is really comfortable,'_ she thought sinking deeper into it. _'Wait, feather blanket? This must be a dream.'_ She relaxed again and didn't bother to open her eyes. _'I could get used to this.'_

A voice woke her out of her thoughts.

"Good morning sleepy head."

Her mind suddenly became alert. _'It couldn't be that good of a dream!'_ Her eyes shot open, and she started to panic. "This isn't my room! John!" She gasped in surprise as she tried to pull the sheets around her. She looked down._ 'Still have pants on. That's a good sign.'_ "What are you doing here? What am I doing here?" She moved off the bed, but the sheets tangled around her, and she felt flat on the floor.

John's hand shot towards her. "Elizabeth, are you okay?"

"Yes…yes I'm fine." She batted his hand away, jumped up, and smoothed back her messy morning hair.

"Where are we?"

"Don't you remember yesterday? Ya know…visiting the Aphrodan people, becoming enemies with the king's daughters, pretending to be married-"

"I remember," Elizabeth said as the events of the day before came back to her memory.

She rubbed her hands through her hair. "Sorry about…uh…freaking out. I'm sometimes disoriented in the morning."

"Everyone is at some point or another. Don't worry about it," he added lying back down. "I could get used to this bed."

She smiled and joined him. "I was just thinking the same thing a minute ago."

"To bad we don't have beds like this back on Atlantis."

"I know," Elizabeth agreed.

"Do you think that they will let me take one of these blankets back if the negotiations go well later today?"

"I don't see why not. It couldn't hurt to ask."

"Ok, do you want me to sit in the meeting this morning?"

"You can if you want to. I hope to establish a trade agreement with them." She threw the covers back over herself and snuggled back down.

"This is nice," he said facing her.

"Yeah."

"Lunch is ready!" A servant shouted from the door. The two of them nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound. The servant left as quickly as he came.

Elizabeth put a hand up to her heart to try to and slow it down. "That scared me."

John was sitting up with her, and was looking as shocked as she did.

"It's already lunch?"

To be continued

**AN: **Push the button! Please.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Sorry it took me so long to update. The last days of school took up my time. I just have one thing to say. Congradulations class of 2006! We made it through highschool! I graduate tomorrow...so wish me luck.

-D

**Chapter 6 Information**

"It's lunch!" Elizabeth replied jumping out of bed. "I was supposed to meet King Cyrus and his council for the meeting!" John jumped out of bed as well. She stopped to look at him. "Why are you rushing?"

He shrugged. "I'm starving."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and flew into the bathroom.

"I'm sure they will reschedule it for later today," John said.

"I'll rush just to be on the safe side," she said from the bathroom. The leader finished dressing and hurried out of the bathroom.

"Elizabeth!" John said holding a princely pair of pants in front of him.

Elizabeth gasped, shut her eyes, and turned around. "John! I…I'm sorry."

"It's ok," John said struggling to get his pants on. "Just give me some warning next time." Elizabeth's face turned bright red. John could see she was embarrassed and tried to change the subject.

"You look nice by the way," he said taking in her appearance.

"Thank you," she smiled. _'John always knows what to say to make me feel better.'_ "Can we go yet?"

"Gosh, you're impatient," he said. He finally got his pants on and started looking for a shirt. "I still need to find a shirt."

"I just want to get going. We are already late enough as it is. Can I at least help you find a shirt?"

"Ok," he said rummaging through the closet. She turned around to help him, and soon she was holding up a cream colored shirt. John made a face.

"What?" She asked looking at the shirt.

"It reminds me too much of that guy."

"What guy?"

"The one I ended up fighting. You know. He tried to fight me with his sword that he put poison on. I swear this shirt looks exactly like the one he wore."

"Who knows. Maybe they traded together," Elizabeth suggested. She pulled out a dark blue shirt. John grimaced. "Now what?"

"I really don't like these clothes."

Elizabeth sighed. "Quit being such a baby." She handed him the shirt and watched him try it on. "It fits perfectly, now come on." She grabbed his hand, and they rushed out of the room.

As they walked through the hallway, many people said hello and good morning to them. They exchanged greetings as they hurried along. They finally stopped at the chamber lunch was usually held in. No one was there at the moment, and they entered.

"Why isn't anyone in here?" John asked. He looked around confused. Elizabeth was as puzzled as he was.

"Dr. Weir, Colonel Sheppard," Algrin said entering behind them. "Good morning."

"Good morning," the two leaders said.

"Where is everyone?" Elizabeth asked.

"They have already eaten. They know you slept in late and told me to have food ready when you arrived."

"Thank you," she said taking a seat at the table.

"How did you sleep?" He asked them.

"Very well," Elizabeth said. "I haven't sleep that good in years."

"I could definitely get used to those beds," John said.

"I'm glad," Algrin replied.

Teyla and Ronon entered the room seconds later. Elizabeth smiled at the two of them, and they exchanged good mornings.

"How did you both sleep?"

"I had a restful nights sleep," Teyla said. "Your rooms are astonishing."

Algrin beamed and turned to Ronon. "What about you sir?"

Ronon wasn't used to being put on the spot, and he tried to think of what to say. "The beds were…" he glanced at Teyla, "comfy." She jabbed him in the side, and they sat down at the long table.

"I'm glad you all had a wonderful nights sleep. Will Dr. McKay be joining you shortly? Shall I send for the food?"

"Please do," Elizabeth said. She was sitting close to John and heard his stomach growl. "Rodney should be here soon."

Algrin bowed and left the room.

"McKay better be here soon," John said, "or I'm eating without him."

As if on cue, the scientist stumbled into the room. He mumbled something that sounded like a good morning and slumped into a chair next to Elizabeth.

"Did you have a good night sleep?" Elizabeth asked.

"Don't ask me questions. It's too early in the morning to talk."

"That answers the question," John said.

Rodney gave him a hateful look and instead of being quiet like he wanted, he did the opposite.

"I had a horrible night sleep. I'm a light sleeper," he explained. "The rain kept me up. I could barely get to sleep. I finally did late last night and then I was woken up by that…that…servant Mutesh. I swear she's out to get me. I could have had a heart attack."

"Well, you're alive," John said.

"How can you guys be so awake?" He asked everyone at the table.

"We were not kept awake by the storm," Teyla answered.

"Well, lucky you," Rodney said continuing to grumble. He looked down in front of him. "Where's our food?"

"It's coming," John said.

Soon the food came. Servants carried steaming plates of food that look like something you would have on Earth for breakfast. There were plates that held what looked like ham, bacon, and sausage. On other plates were potatoes and other vegetables. The last thing to be set in front of them was an array of tropical like fruits. They looked at the feast in front of them and dived in.

Before they knew it, they were finished eating. Servants carried the empty plates away, and they sat there feeling content for the moment.

"What's on the agenda for today?" John asked looking around at everyone at the table.

"I have a meeting with the King, and Teyla, I was wondering if you could accompany me," she turned to the Athosian as she said this. "Your trading experience and knowledge could be helpful in securing a agreement with them."

"I would be happy to help," Teyla said.

Algrin came into the room and turned to Elizabeth. "The King will see you now."

Elizabeth and Teyla left the room and Algrin now turned to the three of them. "I can give you three a tour of the palace and answer any questions you have."

They agreed and soon fallowed him out of the room.

As Algrin led them down the hall, John asked, "How do you keep the Wraith from knocking at your door?"

"I was thinking the same thing," Rodney said looking at Algrin.

"Knocking at my door?" Algrin asked confused.

Ronon jumped at the opportunity to explain. "He means how do you keep the Wraith away from your world?" Ronon smiled proudly. It wasn't every day that he could explain what John and Rodney meant. Usually he was the one that the explaining had to be directed at.

"Ah…I see. Let's just say…we have something that keeps them away."

"Something like what?" Rodney pressed.

"A creature…" Algrin hinted.

"A creature?" John asked puzzled.

"A Wraith eating creature," Algrin added, smiling at the confused looks he received.

McKay stopped them. "Hold on a second…that's not possible…is it?"

"It is Dr. McKay," Algrin smiled. "Maybe Sasha will let you get a glimpse of her." He continued down the hall.

"Sasha?" The three men asked trading looks.

Ronon smiled as they caught up with Algrin. "Can we have one?"

* * *

Algrin took them on a tour of the gym, the science labs, and the underground tunnels. The men learned a lot about their life style and culture. Algrin also told them about the celebration that was going to be held tomorrow night. 

"A few times a year each city gets together to celebrate with our friends and loved ones," the servant explained. The King talks about the importance of family and friends and there is food and drinks."

"Sounds like my kind of get together," Rodney said.

"We're invited?" John asked.

"Yes, of course. The King instead on introducing you five as new allies."

"Of course," John said. "We'd love to come."

* * *

Later that night… 

"Sounds like you had fun," Elizabeth said as she listened to John retell the events of the day.

"You need to see the gym," John said. "It's huge! Kind of like the one we have on Atlantis but way cooler. There are these hot spring kind of things that come out of the walls and…wait did I tell you how they keep the Wraith away?"

"No, actually," Elizabeth said paying more attention now.

John moved the covers over so he was facing her. "They have this creature that actually eats the Wraith."

'What?' Elizabeth thought. "You're joking, right?"

He shook his head. "I'm not. We might get to see Sasha later."

"Sasha?" Elizabeth asked confused.

"That's exactly what I said. That's the name of their creature. We are also invited to their little get together tomorrow. It's some kind of party they are throwing."

"Wow!" _'He looks just like a kid that just found out some exciting news.'_

"What?"

"Sounds like you had fun today. You've been talking a mile a minute."

John smacked his pillow with his hand making it more comfortable. "I am. This place is nice and the people are nice."

"So no problems with Tatia or Catlin today?"

"None, I didn't see them once. Of course, Algrin said that the King had put them in charge of helping decorate for the party."

Elizabeth grinned. "So they were out of your hair?"

"Yep."

"That's nice," she yawned and pulled the covers more around herself.

"I'm really tired, but for some reason, it feels like it's early."

"I forgot to tell you about that too. Rodney guessed that the time here goes a lot faster that the time on Atlantis."

"What?" The leader asked wide-awake now. "It's not going as fast as it was when you went though that portal is it, or we could waste more than half of our lives in just a few days."

"No…no," John said. "McKay determined that it's only a few hours faster than on Atlantis."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, don't worry."

"Ok," she said slumping back down on the bed. "We better get some sleep. I want to get lots of sleep tonight. Good night, John."

"Sweet dreams, Elizabeth."

"He blew the candles out, and they fell asleep.

To be continued…

AN: I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. More will come soon...hopefully. Please review.

-D


	7. Chapter 7

**An:** I'm back from hibernation! I seriously had writers block forever. The plot bunnies also got in the way, and I kept thinking about other stories to write. Forgive me for my lack of updating. This story is heading in a different direction than I thought it would...anyways, enjoy.

-Chicky

**Last chapter recap:** Elizabeth and Teyla go to the trade meeting with the King, and John, Rodney and Ronon take a tour of the palace. They are invited to the ball.

**Chapter 7 Festivities**

Early the next morning…

"How do you get in?" Elizabeth asked.

A humorous look was on John's face as he pondered the meaning of her question.

"What do you mean, how do you get in?"

"I can't see the bottom. Therefore, I don't know how far I have to step down into the water."

John had excitedly woken her up early that morning. They were up even earlier than the time when they would get the wake up call. John wanted to show her around since she had missed the tour the day before. He found what could be bathing suits in their closet and brought them along.

They were now in front of the hot spring pools he had seen the other day. The water fizzled and bubbled and looked inviting since the place was freezing.

"They aren't deep at all. Here, watch me."

She watched as he grabbed onto the side, lifted his legs over, and stepped into the water. She cautiously did the same and soon they were enjoying the feel of the warm water wash over them.

"This is nice," John said resting his head back on the ledge.

"Elizabeth murmured her agreement and let the water rush over her. She felt all her worried wash away and became even more relaxed. John opened an eye and looked over at her.

"So, aren't you glad I woke you up and dragged you down here?"

Elizabeth smiled remembering how long it took John to get her out of bed.

"Yes, John, this is worth the discomfort."

"Discomfort?"

"The discomfort of you poking me in the side."

"Oh…"

They lounged back in the water.

"I didn't poke you that hard."

"Whatever you say."

"It was fun seeing your face."

She opened her eyes and splashed water at him.

"Now that was fun."

He made a face, which changed into a smile.

"What?" She asked.

"Oh nothing."

Silence engulfed them for a little while until Elizabeth looked over at John. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be enjoying the warm water.

'_He looks so peaceful and…wow.' _The reasonable part of her of her brain came alive and scolded her.

'_Stop thinking of him like this.' _

'_But, I can't help it,' she wined. _

'_Yes you can.' _

"This is fun," Elizabeth said before the reasonable part of her brain could stop her.

John cracked an eye open again and peered at her. "I'm glad you are enjoying yourself."

"I don't mean this," Elizabeth said gesturing to the hot spring. I mean pretending to be married to you. It's not as bad as I thought it could be."

"Jeeze, Elizabeth. I'm glad you have confidence in my ability to be a good husband."

"John, I didn't doubting you. I was just unsure about this whole marriage thing. Everyone always talks about how wonderful it is, but I have never really thought about it like that."

"I know what you mean," John said running water over his arms as he spoke. "I knew some day I would settle down, but I never thought of how it could be."

"I've always been involved with my work and never really knew if marriage was the right thing for me. Well, we now have an idea, and we can actually say that we gave this whole marriage thing a try, and that it wasn't half bad."

"I agree to that."

After about an hour of soaking in the inside hot springs, the two of them decided to head back to their room. They were dressed and even surprised the servant who was shocked when she gave them the speech about breakfast being ready.

* * *

"Where is the rest of my team?" John asked Algrin as he loaded his plate with food.

"They are still sound asleep. Ronon and Teyla did not move when the call was made, and I believe I heard something about Dr. McKay saying, "Go away!"

"Sounds like Rodney," Elizabeth said piling different colored fruit on her plate.

"Sleep well?" The King asked as they joined him at the table.

John looked at Elizabeth. "We had another restful night. If only we had beds like these on Atlantis…"

"I'm glad," the King replied, stuffing food into his mouth. This reminded them of Ronon's eating habits. "The palace beds are the finest in the land. Ask anyone, and they will tell you so."

"It's very kind of you to let us stay until the storm ends," she replied.

The king's wife looked up and smiled at them. "We are always happy to have guest, especially ones from so far away."

Elizabeth and John looked questioningly at them.

"Visitors make life more interesting." The king motioned to one of his men as the two sisters entered the room. "What is the weather report for today?"

"One moment, Majesty," the man said bowing before leaving the room.

Meanwhile, the two sisters entered the room, grabbed plates of food, and sat down across from the two leaders. Tatia smiled at John, and he smiled back being polite. This did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth who remained suspicious that the two women were up to something. Not even a minute had passed before the guard returned with a scroll. He addressed the king and began to inform him of the weather. "It has been reported that the rain is still falling continuously. It does not show any signs of letting up. There were also several people who reported leaking in the west part of the palace."

The king frowned and looked over at a man sitting next to Catlin. He nodded at the king. "I'll get my team to clear out the water," the young man said standing.

"Thank you, Cameron," the kings said and then excused the guard.

Elizabeth and John's eyes had been watching with was going on, and now they turned to the king eager to help.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Elizabeth asked.

The king shook his head deep in thought. His picked up his wine glass and took a sip. "I'm afraid not."

The Queen turned urgently to her husband. "Should we cancel the ball?"

Tatia and Catlin's heads snapped towards their mother and father.

"WHAT?" Tatia asked.

"You cannot," Catlin said.

"If the flood gets any worse…" the Queen protested.

Tatia thought quickly. "Cameron should get the problem fixed."

"Yes," Catlin piped up. "You have nothing to worry about. Oh, please don't cancel the ball," she cried.

The King considered both things, and he made his decision. "We cannot cancel the ball. Our daughters are looking forward to it and so is the rest of the royal family."

"I don't know." The Queen had her doubts and after much persuasion, she finally realized that continuing with the ball was the best course of action. If we are still going to have a ball tonight, there is much to be done." She turned to Elizabeth who was also finished eating. "My dear, would you like to accompany me? I would love to hear more about Atlantis."

Elizabeth was surprised by her invitation. "I'd love to," she said, and she turned to John.

"Go, I'll be fine," He smiled.

"Do not worry," Tatia said coming around to stand next to John. She placed a hand on his arm seductively. "I'll take good care of him."

Elizabeth froze hearing those words, as jealously seemed to engulf her like cold seeping through a room on a chilly evening. She smiled, hiding the fact that all she wanted to do was strangle the other girl under the table. _'Oh, that makes me feel so much better,' _she thought sarcastically. The leader turned her back to them and left with the Queen.

* * *

The Queen and Elizabeth started to hang decorations and other forms of party things you might find in a palace.

Elizabeth was the first to speak. "I don't mean to sound…"she trailed off before she began. "It's just…don't think me rude but…have your daughters always…"

"Been after men?"

"Well, I wasn't going to put it like that, but yes," Elizabeth said relieved that she did not have to say it.

"You do not have to worry about your standing with your husband."

"Oh…I wasn't thinking about that," Elizabeth blushed.

"There is no need to be untruthful. I see it in your eyes. Eyes are the windows to the soul. They tell what you truly feel."

"Oh?" She said surprised but this sudden deep insight from a woman that she had barely heard two words from since they had arrived.

"You're worried about my daughters and your husband." It was a statement and not a question.

"Well," she didn't know what to say.

"You have nothing to worry about," The Queen said handing her a golden ball to hang up. "My daughters can be persistent, but they would never compromise your marriage."

"Good to know," Elizabeth said not meaning to be sarcastic but thinking she came off that way.

Although it was no surprise, the tone brushed right over the Queen's head. Elizabeth did not think that she would have known the art of sarcasm.

"My daughters have gone after every man from here to the other realms, but it's all expressions and talking…nothing more."

"Nothing more…" Elizabeth repeated very unsure.

"Now, on a happier note, I would greatly love to hear about your adventures." She looked at Elizabeth as she continued to hang the decorations.

"I don't know how much happier my adventures have been," Elizabeth said thinking of the Wraith.

"We have all had our share of troubles," said the Queen lost in thought for a moment. "But I still want to hear about them."

* * *

Later that night…before the ball…

"Have a good time with the Queen?"

"Yes, she is a very nice person and a good listener. She wanted to know about our adventures on Atlantis. It was interesting that she seemed bored…bored with her life. It seems they don't get many visitors, and they amuse themselves with parties and balls."

"That would be a boring way to live, John thought for a moment, "and that would explain it."

"Explain what?" She asked from the bathroom.

"Tatia and Catlin are good listeners as well, and apparently liked my detailed description of football."

Elizabeth poked her head out of the bathroom. "They what?" She asked disbelieving.

"Don't be so surprised that I could convince them that football was interesting. They hung on my every word."

She quirked an eyebrow. "Don't forget what we discussed about sharing customs and activities we partake in with other worlds. Remember the Etherans."

"John shivered as he remembered Major Lorne's team befriending these people. They had shared a few of Earth's custom with the locals. This was a mistake, and they had to gate back sooner then they hoped. They were not a very pretty sight when they got back, and they had to ban anyone from going back to that world. It was not pretty.

"Nothing like that happened," John said.

"Good, that would be disastrous."

"Anyways, back to my day."

"Continue," she said disappearing back into the bathroom.

"I was telling them about football. They were very interested. In fact, Tatia suggested that we get a few men together, and I could teach them the game."

"Really?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, Ronon, McKay, and I taught the locals how to play football," John said proudly beaming from ear to ear. "McKay at first tried to convince them that hockey was the better sport, but they were far more interested in football."

"Really?" She asked still not believing him.

"Yep," he said. "I had fun."

Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom in a beautiful gown. John's mouth nearly dropped to the floor. He remained composed, smiled, and said, "You look beautiful."

She blushed slightly and looked down. "Thank you…so do you."

"I looked beautiful?"

She shook her head laughing. "I mean very dashing."

"Why thank you, madam."

"John?" Elizabeth said thinking back to their conversation a second ago as she paused in front of the mirror. She turned around to face him. "Be careful."

John quirked an eyebrow. "Of what?"

"I…I don't completely trust those sisters."

"Elizabeth, I spent the day with them. They are completely different then they were a few days ago. They are nice young women now."

"I don't know…How come your opinion has been changed so easily?" 'It doesn't make sense.' "One minute you and hiding from them and the next your saying how nice they are. It's just…"

"Just what?" He inched closer.

"It's nothing…"

"I want to know."

"I don't understand you. After one day, you're thinking they are so wonderful. I don't want you to fall for every girl you meet," Elizabeth cursed under her breath, but the damage was already done.

John's face turned cold. "I didn't know you had such a low opinion of me."

"John, I didn't mean-"

"I know what you meant," he snapped.

"Well you don't exactly have a great track record with women," she argued.

'_Why can't he see where I'm coming from?' _She asked herself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" His fists clenched, and he again moved towards her.

She was starting to get irritated too. "Well, let's see…there was Chaya, Teer, Mara, and let's not forget-"

He suddenly cut her off. "You know I don't need this. I know Tatia and Catlin are nice people, and I don't need your ranting about my 'track record.' He shook his head and walked to the door. 'I told Tatia I would find her at the ball." Without another word, he was out the door. It shut forcefully behind him.

Once he left the room, Elizabeth sank into a chair. _'When did this conversation progress to him walking out on me?' _

'_You know when it did,'_ her consciousness said. '_It started when you confronted John about your suspicions.' _

'_Oh just shut up,' _she told herself. _'I didn't mean to upset John.' _She sighed in frustration. _'I guess I am driven by my emotions.' _

'_Yes, but that isn't a bad thing. You just need to learn out how to control your emotions. Where you were at fault was yelling at John.' _

"He is such a…stubborn man."

'_And you know you love him.' _

"And I know I…" Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. _'I didn't realize…I have to talk with him. I need to patch things up and then go from there.'_ Elizabeth moved off the chair and over towards the mirror.

'_I can't believe I was having another conversation with myself.' _She shook her head, checked her appearance, and moved to open the door. Before her fingers grasped the doorknob, she heard a faint click. Alarmed, she grabbed the handle. She tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"What the hell!" She swore out loud. She started pounding on the door in a very unWeir like fashion. _'Of course the bathroom doors do not have locks, but the main doors have ones!' _"Hello? Is anyone out there?" Elizabeth thought she heard laughing and pounded on the door louder. _'If I get my hands on those sisters I'm going to…awwwwwwwwww,"_ she thought.

She pulled and pushed at the handle on the door. She even positioned her body in the middle of the door to try and force it open. To her surprise, the door opened from the other side, and she fell into the arms of the very dashing stranger.

End of chapter

AN: Please review.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: **Thank you for all the reviews. Please enjoy this chapter too.

**Last chapter recap:** John and Elizabeth had a flight and right after that, someone locked her in her room. She tried to open the door and instead, she fell into the arms of a stranger.

**Chapter 8 Jealousy **

Elizabeth felt her face flush a bright read, but some of her embarrassment quickly disappeared when she looked into the kind eyes of the stranger.

Sensing the awkwardness of the situation, the man smiled. "It is a good thing I came along or you could have ended up on the floor."

"Yes, it is," she said finding her footing and standing up properly.

"Charles Enoeth," the man said extending his hand.

"Dr. Elizabeth Weir," she said taking it.

"Ah…you're one of our honored guests who came through the gate." He realized he was still holding onto her and released her arms.

"Yes," she said. "You are…"

"Prince Charles. I'm Tatia and Catlin's brother."

Her eyes widened when he said prince, but she replied, "I see…"

He looked her in the eyes and back at the door. "I assume you have already met them…considering your situation."

"Situation?" She asked puzzled.

"With the door. I saw them leaving it, and I thought it might be a good idea to investigate."

"I'm glad you did. I suspected that they had something to do with why I couldn't open my door."

Charles smiled, and there was silence. "I see you are dressed for the ball. May I escort you there?"

Elizabeth smiled and took his arm. "I'd like that."

At the ball…

The team was mingling with the other guests and having a good time. Okay, mostly Teyla was conversing with the guests. Rodney and Ronon were eating, and John found himself surrounded by Tatia who was laughing with him and listening to his every word. When Elizabeth walked down the stairs, accompanied by Charles, the whole room seemed to have their eyes fixed on the handsome pair. Guests whispered and gazed in awe at the pair before them. Some who did not know who she was, asked, "Who is she?" Others said, "I love her gown." Some of the bolder ones whispered, "She must be another one of Charles ladies."

After their names were announced, the two of them glided gracefully down the stairs and were accosted by the Queen and Teyla.

"My dear, Elizabeth," the Queen said. "I was getting worried that you were not going to come."

"I wouldn't miss this."

"Look at the beautiful decorations we placed everywhere. Are they not wonderful?"

"They are."

"I see that you have met my son," The Queen gave Charles a questioning look, but he just smiled. The Queen started to talk with him. Teyla addresses Elizabeth with a friendly smile. In the last few years, the women had become very close friends.

"You look very pretty, Elizabeth," Teyla said.

"As do you," the leaders replied. "When did you get here?"

"About ten minutes ago. As you can see, Ronon and Dr. McKay are preoccupying themselves with the food table." The two women turned to look at the Satedan and the scientist. The greedy men were stuffing food onto their plates and talking about something as they ate.

"Yes, they are certainly enjoying themselves. Where's John?"

Teyla was silent for a second. Her eyes shifted to the middle of the room. She did not say anything, but she did not have to because the doctor saw immediately where she was looking. Teyla noticed something pass over her friends face for only a second. It was as if Dr. Weir's whole body sighed, if that was even possible.

"Come this way," the Athosian said trying to make her lose her sad demeanor. "You must also try the excellent food."

Elizabeth smiled sadly at her friends attempt to get her to forget about John when Charles interrupted the two of them.

"Can I steal Elizabeth away for the moment?"

Teyla looked over at Elizabeth who looked shocked. She smiled. "Go right ahead."

"I'll talk more with you after," Elizabeth said.

"There is not rush." She watched the pair head out to the dance floor, and smiled again happily.

"You are very beautiful," Charles said as they danced with the many couples on the floor.

Elizabeth blushed, but said, "I bet you say that to all the girls."

Meanwhile…somewhere at the table to the right of the room…

John was sitting close to Tatia and watching the couples dance on the floor. Tatia was on his right side conversing with her sister. Catlin handed her a drink, and Tatia slipped a tiny white pill into the glass before handing it to John. The Colonel was not even paying attention. His eyes were fixed on the pair in the middle of the floor. A hurt-puppy-dog-look appeared on his face as he watched them.

Tatia whispered under her breath. "The pill we used yesterday is wearing off."

"Try to make him drink it," Catlin whispered back.

"Why don't you have something to drink?" Tatia tipped the cup to John's lips. To her disappointment, John pushed the cup out of the way.

"Who's that dancing with Elizabeth?"

The hurt look was still on his face, but this time it was a determined hurt look. He felt tense and started drumming his fingers on the table.

Tatia casually glanced at the dance floor. Her eyes stopped on Elizabeth and Charles. "She is with Charles?" Tatia turned to look at her sister. A worried look appeared on each of their faces.

"You know him?" John now turned to look at Tatia.

"Yes, he's our brother. You would have met him sooner, but Charles has been away visiting relatives of ours when the storm came. He is one to go after the ladies," she added rolling her eyes.

"I can see that," John said as his vision zoned in to their brother placing a hand on Elizabeth's lower back.

Tatia then smiled thinking that Charle's interaction with Elizabeth could actually benefit them. "It looks like your wife prefers his company to yours, she said, running her hand down John's arm. She handed him the drink again.

"You're so tense. Just relax and have a sip of this. You will feel much better."

John took the glass and downed the drink before excusing himself and heading over to them.

"Elizabeth," John said coming up to the two of them.

"Oh hi, John," she said turning to face him. "John, this is Charles Enoeth. Charles, this is-"

"Colonel John Sheppard, her husband," John added firmly.

Charles looked surprised for a second and then said, "It's very nice to meet you," he shook John's hand. The Colonel was taken aback at his reaction to finding out that they were married but shook his hand anyway.

Tatia came to join them. She ran a hand down John's shoulder. Elizabeth scowled, and Charles watched the scene with a mixture of interest and amusement. John's eyes fixed on Tatia, and Elizabeth looked away in disgust.

"Your wife promised me another dance," Charles said to everyone's surprise.

"Go right ahead," John said feeling better that Charles would not try anything now that he knew they were married…or at least posing as a married couple.

Tatia tore her eyes from John and spoke to Elizabeth. "I'll keep him company again."

"How nice of you," Elizabeth said fist tightening at her side. Before she could lash out at her, Charles practically picked her up and dragged her away from them.

"Pulling me away was not necessary," she said to him.

They turned with the other couples and as she passed him, he whispered. "Yes, it was. Now tell me the truth. You and the Colonel are not really married, are you?"

The look on Elizabeth's face betrayed her. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I think you do, and the fact that you did not deny it confirms that it is true. This brings up the question that why would the two of you lie to everyone here and say that you are married? There must be a good reason for this."

Elizabeth sighed. "There is."

"If I can further my suspicions…"

"Go ahead," she said not caring if he knew or not.

"You must have lied because someone was trying to seduce you or the Colonel," he glanced over at John and Tatia. "My guess would be him. Since you two are close, he would have come to ask you to pretend that you were husband and wife, thinking that if my sisters knew this, they would leave him alone."

"Yes…how did you-"

"Know? They have done with before with other couples, but I must admit you two are the first that actually pretended to be married to escape them."

"Well…it didn't work," Elizabeth said frustrated. "I care deeply for John, and I just can't stand to see him with that…that…"

"Evil sister of mine?"

Elizabeth smiled. "You said it not me."

"But you agree with me, and I know Colonel Sheppard cares about you too."

"How do you know?" She asked amazed that someone she just met had so much insight to her relationship with John.

"Did you not see how he reacted to me?"

"He was a little jealous."

"He was more than a little jealous," Charles said spinning her into his arms. "Take a look."

Elizabeth looked over at John. His eyes seemed to be on Tatia and her sister, but after further observation, she saw that he was really watching them out of the corner of his eye. "Do you see what I mean?"

"Yes…" Elizabeth replied.

"We must do something before my sisters-"

"But the Queen said that this is nothing. All it is is talk and-"

"The Queen only sees the kind of person her daughters want her to see. There is a whole other side of my sisters that only you and I will ever witness."

Elizabeth frowned. "We do need to stop them."

"It's not going to be so easy," he said as they turned to the music.

"You just said that we need to-"

"Yes, but it is not going to be as easy as you think."

"What aren't you telling me," Elizabeth asks as they danced.

A frown appeared on his face. "The reason that he has been so eager to be around them and has a high opinion of them is because they have probably been drugging him."

"What?" Elizabeth said thoroughly appalled with this new information.

"In the past, they have used these small pills. They slip them in people's drinks and the usual affect is that they become easily influenced or more suggestible."

'Not again…' Elizabeth thought thinking back to a few weeks ago when the personal including herself had been in a similar situation where they were being influenced by an addictive personality. She was pulled out of her thoughts by the prince saying something.

"I'm truly sorry about what my sisters are doing. I wish I could have stopped them in time."

"We still can. Think…what were you saying about how we can stop them? There must be a way."

"Yes, there is," he said as Elizabeth saw the hope return to his eyes. "There is only one way to break the hold they have over him." He looked down at her with lustful eyes, and tightened his hold on her hand and pulled her closer to himself.

She looked at her hand that he was holding and back at him. "Excuse me." She said removing his hand from her back where he had been moving it. "What do think you're doing? This is not appropriate."

He refused to let go of her and instead closed the gap between them. He whispered in her ear, and his breath made her shiver. "You wanted to know what we could do."

"And….how…w…would this be solving the problem?"

He suddenly became serious and said, "There are two different effects the drugs could have on him. One: He could become more suggestible until he will only feel good only around them and become addicted to them for the rest of his life." Elizabeth gasped but let him continue. "Or two: he could become increasingly protective of the one he loves and finally realize his true feelings. That is where you come in. I saw something in his eyes when he was watching us and before when I first met him. By appearing to like each other-"

"He'll be jealous," Elizabeth said finishing his sentence. "Look this is a great plan…but everyone here believes that John and are married. If we are going to convince John that the two of use are interested in each other…we are going to have to do some serious convincing…but then the King and Queen will think we lied to them…and I just do not see how that is a good-"

Before she could finish her sentence she felt his lips press warmly to hers. She gasped, but then started kissing him back. She could feel that this was wrong because her heart was always with John, but if this would help break the spell then she would do everything she could to help him. They broke the kiss, and Elizabeth said breathlessly, "What will the others think?"

Charles smiled handsomely. "I have a reputation to protect. The others will not think anything of this."

"Ah…I see," Elizabeth said pushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear. The dance was over and the next one was about to begin. They stepped off the floor and all four of her friends accosted them. They had witness Charles and Elizabeth's actions while dancing, and they wanted an explanation.

"We would like to speak to Elizabeth," Rodney said.

"Alone." John said sternly. He looked like he was ready to lunge at the guy, but thankfully Teyla and Ronon were holding him back.

He whispered silently to her, "It worked." Then Charles gracefully bowed out, and left the group.

"What is going on?" McKay said when they were in the hall. "I go and eat for a second, and I come back and see the princess all over you," McKay said turning to John. "I also see the prince all over you," he said to Elizabeth. The scientist was very confused. "Please explained to this to me. I thought you two were supposed to pretend you were married. I didn't know we were allowed to like people on other planets! There is a women over there who is dieing to be with me." They looked back through the room and saw a pretty young women waving at him. Rodney waved back and blew kisses her way. "See what I mean?"

John turned angrily to Dr. Weir. "What the hell were you doing kissing him?"

"What? Do you actually care now Colonel?"

"We are supposed to be a married couple, and here you are kissing another man?"

"Oh…and what about you? Tatia practically had her hands all over you!"

"You two need some serious marriage counseling," McKay said folding his arms.

"Shut up!" They snapped at him.

"What? You both just told me to shut up. I cannot believe this! That was totally uncalled for."

"I think we all have had enough for the evening. Might I suggest that the two of you continue your conversation somewhere private?" Teyla asked.

John was just about to object when Elizabeth spoke up first.

"I think that is an excellent idea, Teyla. Would you inform the King and Queen that we had a wonderful time, but had to retire sooner than we had hoped."

"I would be glad to," Teyla said.

Elizabeth and John broke off from the group. Once they reached their room and entered, John slammed the door behind him. Elizabeth whirled around angrily to face him. "Was slamming the door supposed to intimidate me!"

"NO! It was so we could have more privacy like _you _wanted!"

"I feel so much better!"

"You do not even know this guy! How could you kiss him?"

"How could I kiss him? He is caring, gentile, and nice, and for your information…he kissed me first!"

"It didn't seem like you minded!"

"I didn't really! At least some is paying attention to me! Unlike you who has been choosing to ignor-"

John did not let her finish. He quickly grabbed her and planted his mouth onto hers.

She gasped again for the second time that day, but this time she did not mind. Kissing John was breathtaking and more wonderful than she had ever thought it was going to be. These were her thoughts as their lips collided and tangled together. All John could think about was erasing Charles from her mind. He wanted her to know that he cared about her and did not want any other man touching her again. He wanted her to be all his and him all hers. She moaned into his mouth feeling content as they kissed, and he drew her closer to himself. Neither wanted to break their kiss and tried to hold on as long as possible to savor the taste of the other and memorize every feel, touch, and taste they experienced.

She moaned again, and the sound and feel of her was driving him wild, but soon they had to part for air. When they did, they smiled shyly at each other.

"That was-"

"More than wonderful," she finished for him. She smiled coyly. "Looks like Charles and my plan worked."

John cringed at the other man's name. "What worked?"

"Our plan to make you extremely jealous so you would realize how you felt about me."

John smiled. "This was your plan?"

"Actually, it was his, but I helped."

John looked at her disbelievingly. "Maybe he's not so bad after all. I'll have to remember to thank him."

"Oh…" Elizabeth said approaching him. "You don't have to. You can thank me instead."

"How do you want me to do that?" He said.

"You can kiss me again for starters."

"Then what?"

"How about we decide what else when we come to it."

"Agreed," he said before again pulling her to himself and giving her mind blowing kisses that she would never forget.

End of chapter 8

AN: Please review...sorry if it was a little out of character.  



	9. Chapter 9

**AN: **Thank you for all the reviews. Sorry about the long hiatus from writing. I needed a break, and I got obsessed with making a whole bunch of Sparky music videos, plus I started college, and got a job. Anyways, so…if anyone is interesting in the Sparky videos I was working on since the last time I posted a chapter then review and tell me, and I'll send you the link to my you tube site.

The last chapter I wrote…was not the greatest…I hope this chapter is better.

**Last chapter recap: **Elizabeth and Charles came up with a plan to get John free of Tatia's hold over him. They made him jealous at the party and after their fight, John realized his feelings for her.

**Chapter 9 Lies? **

The sun rays filtered through the glassed in balcony windows and through the white silk drapes hanging aimlessly in front of the glass. The room was bathed in a soft warm glow that was bright enough to illuminate the room, but was not too bright to disturb the pair snuggled under the covers. All was still as the two figures lay peacefully on the soft bed.

Elizabeth stirred and sighed contently as she moved closer to the warm body next to her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up into the eyes of the man holding her.

"Good morning sleepy head," John said.

"It's morning already?" She asked running a hand through her unruly curls. "The suns out," she stated glancing at the windows.

"My guess is that the rain clouds cleared up sometime through the night," John said looking over at the drapes emitting the glow into the room.

"Last night was amazing," she said putting a hand on his chest redirecting his gaze back to her.

John and Elizabeth spent most of the night up talking with each other. Now that they knew how each other felt, it opened up new topics for conversation. They talked about everything they had wanted to tell each other but were too afraid to before. They shared their feelings for each other, their insecurities, and their hopes and dreams. The two of them agreed to take their relationship slowly, but they both still wanted to pursue a relationship and one day an intimate one, but the two of them were not ready for that at the moment, and they were content with getting to know each other better first.

"Yeah," John said running a hand through her curls. "I've never found anyone one who I could share things with like we did."

They just smiled at each other, and John wrapped his arms closer around her.

A knock sounded at the door, and a servant stuck her head into the room. "Oh," she said looking at how close John and Elizabeth seemed to be. "Sorry for the interruption, but the meal will be ready shortly." The servant backed out of the room.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said as the door closed behind her.

Elizabeth groaned and sat up in bed. "We better get back into our uniforms. The suns out so we should be headed back to Atlantis sometime today.

John put his puppy-dog face back on and whined pulling her back down into the covers. "Can't we lie here a little longer?"

"I wish we could, but I'm starving." She kissed him lightly on the nose. "Please get up."

"Alright," he said. "Since you asked me so nicely, I will."

"Thank you," she said as the two of them left the comfort of the warm bed. They dressed quickly and headed to the chamber where breakfast was being served.

* * *

"You two look very happy," Rodney said noticing the smiles on the two leaders faces. "What happened last night?" 

Teyla nudged him hard under the table with her foot.

"What? I'm their friend, and I'm curious."

"We spent the night talking," John said, and Elizabeth smiled in agreement taking her spoon and scooping the steaming potatoes onto her plate.

Ronon looked curiously at the two of them. "Sure you did."

John smirked at the former Runner. "Yes we did."

"Well, I don't believe you," McKay said. "I've never seen two people that happy with each other after just spending a night together talking."

"I am sure that is what the Doctor and the Colonel did," Teyla said believing her two friends. "Two people can spend the night together just talking and be very content with each other the next day."

"And how would you know?" Ronon asked. A playful smile was spread out on his face, and he looked at the Athosian challengingly.

"I have done this with many men in my village before," Teyla said.

Ronon was looking for an answer but that clearly was not the one that he was expecting. "How many?" He asked jealously.

Before Teyla had a chance to reply, Algrin walked into the room. "I'm glad to see that you are all up. Can I get anyone anything?"

Elizabeth looked around at everyone as they shook their heads. "No, we're fine. Algrin, where are the King and Queen this morning? We will be leaving sometime today, and we would like to speak with them before we do.

"I wish you did not have to leave so soon," he said. "The King and Queen will be sad to see you go."

"I wish we could stay longer," Elizabeth said looking at the team. "Our people will be worried because we have been gone so long."

"I understand completely," Algrin said. "The King had to take care of some business with Sasha, and the Queen slept in this morning. They will be here shortly."

"Sasha?" Teyla asked curiously.

"It's an animal that they have. It's a creature that protects them from the Wraith when the storm isn't around."

Ronon took a scoopful of an apple sauce like substances and shoved it into his mouth. "We should have one of those back on Atlantis."

"Yes," we should Rodney agreed. "It would have helped when the Wraith had attacked the city."

"That's the military's responsibility," Elizabeth teased John. "They would be out of a job."

John shrugged and asked Ronon to pass him a dish of food. "Yeah…I kind of like fighting off the Wraith. It gives me something to do."

The King and Queen arrived a few minutes after and joined them at the table. They told them that they needed to head back to Atlantis, and the King was more than willing to offer them parting gifts and to tell them about a safer, dryer route back to the gate. After breakfast, McKay, Ronon, and Teyla went with the servants to help pack up exotic foods, and fine silk blankets to take back to the city. Elizabeth went with the Queen who wanted to speak with her before she had to leave. John got a note right after breakfast, and he excused himself and promised to meet Elizabeth back in their room.

* * *

"Yes…yes…we would like that and that," McKay said pointing to food that was being laid out in front of them. "Can we just take it all?" He asked the annoyed servant. 

"What Dr. McKay meant to say is that this is very nice of you to send us away with such…extravagant gifts." Teyla said smoothing it over.

"We are grateful to send away such nice gifts for our equally nice guests. The man smiled at Teyla. Ronon noticed this and scooted closer to her.

"We'll take some of that too," he said pointing to the fruit sauce they had for breakfast.

Teyla gave him a look, and Rodney said, "You are carrying most of this to the gate, right?"

* * *

"I am glad that we could meet you and your people," The Queen said. 

"So am I. I think we can prove to be good allies, and our friendship could benefit all of us. Thank you for your warm welcome, and your kind hospitality since we have been here."

"It's our pleasure," she said. "As I have said before, it is very rare that we have visitors, and just between the two of us, I can get tired of the same thing."

"It's never boring on Atlantis, but I know what you mean about being tired about the way things are."

"I do hope my daughters did not cause too much trouble for you while you were here," the Queen said.

"Uh…I don't know-"

"Like I said before," she interrupted. "They can be very tiresome too, but I love them."

Elizabeth smiled at her motherly devotion, but did not say anything.

"Will you have some of your own one day with, Colonel Sheppard?"

Elizabeth nearly choked, but the Queen did not take notice.

"We…we…uh…haven't thought about that yet."

"I know that it's none of my business, but I believe the two of you would make good parents."

"And you're basing this off of what you saw while we were here?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes," said the Queen. "I can tell that The Colonel loves you very much."

Elizabeth could not help the smile that formed on her lips. "Yes, he does."

"I saw you two arguing last night at the ball. You both worked everything out?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "We talked everything over last night."

"Good," the Queen said. "I'll walk you back to your room, so you can help The Colonel finish packing."

"That's everything you wanted to tell me?" Elizabeth asked.

"I just wanted to make sure that everything was settled between you two and to wish you a safe journey back to the ring."

The two women left the room and headed back down the hall when they turned the corner, and what they saw made both women gasp.

John pulled away from Tatia and looked at them in just as much shock.

"Tatia!" The Queen practically yelled at her daughter. "What are you doing kissing Colonel Sheppard?"

John looked at Elizabeth who was so shocked that she just stood there staring. "This isn't what it looks like…I didn't-"

"Was everything you said last night a lie?" John saw her eyes lose their sparkle before he could say anything to change what she was feeling. "You know what," she said quickly and almost in tears. "I don't even want to know." She started to take a few steps away from him and fled the room.

To be continued...

**AN:** I hope that didn't suck to much. Yeah...please review...you know what to do...


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:** This chapter contains thoughts from both Elizabeth and John. Thank you to everyone who kept reviewing and encouraging me to finish this. You're reviews helped me finally finish. I'm happy with how I ended it.

**Last chapter recap: **Elizabeth and the Queen caught John and Tatia kissing. **  
**

**Chapter 10 Going Home**

Elizabeth!" John yelled pounding on the door to their bathroom. He couldn't believe that there were no locks on the front of the door to their room, but that the bathroom had them. He tried the door again, but it would not open. "Elizabeth, let me explain!"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say! Just go."

"I didn't kiss Tatia!" He said pacing in front of the door. _'Why won't she believe me?' _"She kissed me!" He said more forcefully hoping his tone would help somehow.

"Oh…that makes me feel so much better!" She said throwing the door open. _'He is such a liar,'_ she thought. "The whole reason we pretended to be married was so you would not have to deal with them trying to seduce you!" She continued to walk towards him and now she was poking him in the chest. "You couldn't resist her charm before the party, and now I find you kissing her!"

"Elizabeth, I didn't kiss her. I was about to pull away when you came."

Elizabeth shook her head. 'I don't even know what to believe anymore.' "Last night you said you cared about me and never wanted to hurt me."

"Yes-"

"But this hurt me," she said looking him straight in the eye. "If we want our relationship to work, I need to be able to trust you."

"You can," he said.

"Can I?" Elizabeth replied.

"Yes, you can," he said. "I swear I didn't kiss her," John said reaching for her hand, and he squeezed it in his. She let him pull her into a hug, and he kissed the top of her head reassuringly. "I swear I didn't kiss her," he repeated. _'Please believe me,' _he silently prayed. She finally hugged him back hearing the honesty flood out of his voice. He pulled out of their embrace and looked her straight in the eyes. "I meant what I said last night. I want to get to know you better, and I never want to hurt you, but I need you to trust me as well."

Elizabeth sighed. "I do. I just got…upset when I saw you two together. I might have blown things out of proportion, a little."

"A little?"

"Yes, a little." She gave him one last smile and put her worries behind her. "Come on, we should be getting back home."

The five of them finished packing up and were heading down the stairs when Algrin found them. The King and Queen requested an audience with you before you leave.

"We were just on our way to see them," Elizabeth said and they followed her and Algrin to the throne room.

When they entered the brightly lit room, they saw the King and Queen sitting in the back of the chamber in their royal chairs and standing next to them were the two princesses looking very much unhappy at something they had just been told. Prince Charles was standing next to them looked smug.

John could not help but feel a wave of jealously wash over him as he saw the prince smile at Elizabeth. _'He is part of the reason why I'm with Elizabeth now,' _he reminded himself. _'If Charles hadn't told Elizabeth to make me jealous, who knows where I would be now,' _he shivered at the thought. _'I'd probably be with Tatia.' _He pushed his restless thoughts aside, and listened to what they had to say.

"We are very sorry at the trouble our daughters have caused you while you where here," the King said scowling at his daughters but maintaining his royal airs. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" His voice rang out through the room making everyone jump.

"We are sorry," both women said.

Tatia shrugged. "We were bored and tried to entertain ourselves. We should not be held accountable for our actions."

"You slipped pills in my husband's drink, and you tried to seduce him. I fail to see how you can't be held accountable," Elizabeth said. '_How dare they think that they can get away with what they have done!'_ Her anger was clearly present in her voice, and the whole team looked over at her in amazement. She had a right to be angry, but they were worried about what the King and Queen would say.

"They will answer for their actions," the King said. "You can be sure of that. They will receive the proper punishment."

The women traded worried glances knowing whatever their father had in mind would not be pleasant.

"Forgive my manners," the King said. "I know you have been hoping to see Sasha. Allow my wife and I to introduce you," he said addressing the group. They followed the King and the Queen as they headed outside. Four servants carried their luggage after them. They heard loud pounding coming from the direction they were heading in, and the whole ground shook. The team exchanged looks.

"You know…if it's too much trouble, we don't have to see this…this…thing," McKay said suppressing the urge to run and hide.

"Nonsense, you have nothing to worry about this way," the King commanded.

They dodged puddles of muddy water from the rain days before and finally arrived at their destination. They stopped in an open field. Their eyes were fixed on the object or rather animal in front of them. A massive green animal, which resembled a dinosaur, stood two stories above them. The ground vibrated around them as a man threw a large carcass of an medium sized animal, and the dinosaur devoured it by swallowing it whole.

The team had never seen Ronon look so happy as he looked at the beast in front of them.

"This is my kind of animal," Ronon said smiling.

"This is Sasha," The King said pointing to the dinosaur. "She protects us from the Wraith by having them for a meal anytime they come around."

"And you're sure you don't have another one of these?" Ronon asked.

"We do not need something like that. My expertise is enough to save us," Rodney said not wanting to admit he was some what afraid of the large animal in front of them.

"She is our only one," The King said. "Lets move on to the punishment for my daughters."

"That is an excellent idea," Charles said. His remark received dirty scowls from his sisters.

Two men appeared with shovels in their hands and holding them out to the princesses. They looked at the shovels horrified.

"What do you expect us to do with these?" Tatia asked.

"Your going to be cleaning up Sasha's waste," their father answered.

The sisters eyes grew wide at the thought. "How can you make your lower your daughters to such a level that we have to clean up the waste of this…this creature!" Catlin practically yelled.

"Do we mean _nothing_ to you?" Tatia asked her parents.

"You brought this on yourselves. Now clean up this mess."

"We will not!" They said defiantly.

"NOW!" He yelled.

They jumped and threw their father dirty looks as their shovels touched the ground, and they started their work while they grumbled under their breath.

I hope you're having fun," John whispered. _'They deserve this. I can't believe what they put Elizabeth and I through.'_

Tatia wanted to scream at him. She was so furious. John grinned at Elizabeth and they all left for the gate. After parting with the royal family, the team walked through the gate.

John, Elizabeth, Rodney, Teyla, and Ronon came through the gate with arms full of parting gifts from the Afrodan people. John was carrying an armful of soft blankets. Elizabeth was also holding a few comfortable blankets and a small bead studded jewelry box. Teyla was carrying the clothing they had given her, and Rodney and Ronon were happily chewing away at the rich food the people had packed away for them.

As the gate shut down behind them, Caldwell approached the group.

"You're all back early. We were not expecting you for another few days."

"You've got to be kidding me!" McKay complained. "We were there in that awful place

for over a week."

"Relax McKay," John said. "You weren't complaining when you were at the ball with that girl on your arm."

"For once, you are wrong, Doctor. You arrived back early," Caldwell interrupted.

Rodney snapped his fingers remembering something. "It was the time difference. Assuming my calculations are correct, and we will assume they are because they are my calculations…time goes by faster on their planet then ours. What seemed like a few days for you was more than a week for us."

"I see," he said, but he did not really understand everything that was going on. He just felt like he should say something important. "I'm sure I'll understand more at the briefing. I take it that your trip was eventful," he continued. He eyed their blankets, food, and other gifts they were holding.

"We were able to establish a trade agreement," Elizabeth said, "and they were very generous with the parting gifts." _'He doesn't need to know that we were pretending to be married,' _she thought.

"A little too generous," John murmured under his breath as he recalled the past week dodging the sisters' advances. "Its good to be back home."

"I'll second that," Ronon said. "There was nothing to do," Teyla gave him a shrewd look, "for most of the time."

They started to leave the gate room. Caldwell was full of questions, but he did not seem to be getting any answers from them. The team stopped in the hall way and exchanged looks.

John started to walk past the Colonel, but stopped when he heard his questions. "Our time there was…let's just say…"

"You don't want to know," Elizabeth finished for him. _'You really don't.'_

"I'll expect a briefing in a few hours," Caldwell almost had to shout after them as they left him in the dust of the gate room. He watched as they retreated before he could ask them anything else.

The team parted half way down one of the halls. John followed Elizabeth. There was one question still nagging in the back of his mind, and he was dieing to find out what she would say.

"You said something that has been bothering me for the last few days," John said as they walked side by side. _'I hope she doesn't take this the wrong way, but I have to know.'_

They stopped at her room, and she opened the door while thinking about what he said. _'Why can't I read your expression?' _Elizabeth thought. Usually she could tell what he was thinking or about to say. The two of them had a strong connection, but this time she could not tell what he was feeling. This worried her. They entered her room, and she set down her things. Elizabeth watched as he did the same.

"What's been bothering you, John?"

"You had mentioned something about Dr. Beckett being on your case about taking too many condoms or birth control pills or whatever."

"Yes…" Elizabeth said slowly shifting nervously from side to side.

"I just want the name of whoever you were seeing." He folded his armed and tried to look serious as he leaned against the door frame. It was driving him crazy thinking she had a relationship with someone on Atlantis.

Dr. Weir did not answer for a moment. She moved over to her bed and sat down. Elizabeth crossed her legs and folded her arms mimicking the way John was poised. "So you can beat him up?"

"Of course." Elizabeth smirked at him, and he looked at her shocked. "I fail to see what's so funny." _'Why is she smiling?' _He thought. _'Here I'm asking her something important, and she's smiling like she knows something I don't know.'_

"You are completely wrong. Yes, I was taking the condoms from Carson, but they weren't for me."

"They weren't?"

"No," she said leaving the bed and slowly walking toward him. "I haven't been with anyone on Atlantis."

"You haven't?" _'YES!' _His mind screamed. He didn't want to particularly be court marshaled for beating up someone Elizabeth might have been seeing.

"I haven't."

John breathed out the huge breath he had been holding in. He was relieved, to say the least. "Then who were they for?"

"I can't tell you that."

"What? Why?"

"I promised not to say anything. Now come on," Elizabeth walked to the door. "I'm starving. Lets go get something to eat," she tried to change the subject, but she failed miserably.

"Who was it for?" He persisted as they entered the mess hall.

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Come on," John said as they picked up trays and browsed over the items on the table.

"No," she said clearly irritated with his constant interest in something that was none of his business. "John, just drop the subject!" _'Please. I would be betraying someone's trust if I told.'_

"Fine, I'll just have to figure it out on my own."

"You do that," she said happy that he would finally quit asking her questions about it.

"Elizabeth," Teyla interrupted coming over to meet them. "Colonel," she said looking back and forth between the two of them. "I wanted to thank you for the supplies. They were very helpful over the last few days."

"You're welcome," Elizabeth smiled at her.

"I should let you both get back to your lunch. Thank you, again."

"Supplies?" John echoed as Teyla left them, and they found a table.

Elizabeth did not comment, but the wheels were turning slowly in John's mind.

"You've been giving them to Teyla!" John said.

Elizabeth jabbed him in the side. "Lower your voice."

"It is Teyla isn't it. She must be seeing…Ronon?"

Elizabeth did not say anything, but John kept going. "When did this happen? Why am I the last to know?" _'I know them better than anyone, and I didn't know they were seeing each other!'_

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and continued to eat. "We have a meeting with Caldwell in less than an hour, and I'm relieved to find the city all in one piece."

John took the bait and forgot their former conversation.

"Have you figured out how we are going to explain what happened."

"I don't have a clue how we are going to explain _everything_."

"Well, we'll think of something," John said as he reached for her hand. She gladly took his. They were both happy to be home, and excited to see where their new relationship would lead them.

The End


End file.
